The Hammond tonewheel organ is a classic electromechanical musical instrument, patented by Laurens Hammond in 1934. Though intended as an affordable substitute for church organs, it has also become an essential part of jazz (where it was popularized by Jimmy Smith), R&B, and rock music (where the Hammond playing of Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & and Palmer and Jon Lord of Deep Purple is exemplary). The sound of the Hammond organ is rich and unusual, owing to its unique approach to timbre and certain quirks of its construction.
It would be desirable to imprint the unique sonics of Hammond tonewheel organs on input audio, for example to “Hammondize” a guitar or flute. In other words, it would be desirable to provide an audio effect that could impart the sonic character of a Hammond tonewheel organ to any sound. It is also desirable to apply such an effect digitally, with a minimum of computation.